


Wireboarding

by yuletide_archivist



Category: Uglies Series - Scott Westerfeld
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-20
Updated: 2007-12-20
Packaged: 2018-01-25 04:37:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1631981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Slime Queen debacle, Aya is eager for any chance to get back into the Sly Girls' good graces. Miki gives her that chance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wireboarding

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Hope

 

 

Aya crooked her finger and scrolled through her recent pings. Now she was "Slime Queen" it seemed as though she had considerably more friends, and therefore pings, than before. She hesitated for a minute and the scrolling stopped, with an unopened ping from the Sly Girls at the top.

_Hmm, that's weird. They just said I was kicked out until my rank gets back to extra land. Why would they be contacting me again? More slime jokes?_

Aya opened the message and saw that it wasn't from _the_ Sly Girls but from _a_ sly girl-Miki.

_**"Wanna meet up and go do something mind-kicking? I'm so bored I'm watching littlie feeds! All the girls are lying low because of your stunt, so it's now your duty to spice up my night."** _

Aya thought quickly. She had assignments to do and she really needed the merits, but this could be her chance to get a kicking interview with one of the Sly Girls! She took one last look at the long line of assignments on the wallscreen then dismissed them with a flick. Once she kicked this story she wouldn't need any merits. She'd be so famous the walls would be throwing stuff at her!

She grabbed Moggle and considered the various exit strategies available to her. There were bound to be cameras waiting for her downstairs, but maybe if she had a disguise... She remembered the cloak she had worn to the tech-kickers party, back when this whole thing had started, and hurried over to her wall.

"Gray cloak, please."

The wall spit out the cloak and Aya slipped it over her head. _This will be perfect! If I can keep the cameras from identifying me, then I can probably slip away unnoticed. And if that doesn't work, I'm sure Moggle can create a little...distraction for me._ Before she left the dorm, she sent off a quick ping to Miki:

_**"Sounds good. Meet me at the graffiti walls."** _

*********

"That was SO much fun, Moggle!" Aya said, laughing and out of breath. Moggle blinked its eyes at her while twirling in a little circle. "You thought so too? We have definitely got to do this more often."

Aya was very pleased with how their escape had gone off. She had exited through the front door of the dorm, completely hidden by her cloak, when one of the cameras outside had decided to try to identify her. Moggle, on notice about the importance of secrecy, had rammed right into the other camera and sent it flying into the mob waiting outside the dorm. Somehow this caused the cameras to get disoriented and during the confusion Aya was able to escape unnoticed.

Now, she was waiting at the graffiti walls for Miki to show up. She was a little worried that Miki might not have gotten her ping, but she decided to stick it out for at least a little while longer. Just then, she heard footsteps coming down the tunnel. Aya tensed and looked for cover, not sure that this person was Miki. But there was nowhere to hide, so she just sank deeper into the shadows and pulled her cloak close around her. "Moggle," she hissed, "Get over here." Moggle flew over and scooted under the edge of the cloak, hiding himself from sight.

The footsteps were coming closer now and Aya was getting tenser by the moment. Finally, the person rounded the corner. It was Miki.

"Miki, over here!" Aya called. Miki walked over and looked at Aya for a moment. "I would ask what is up with the costume, but I honestly don't want to know. Just promise me you haven't brought any of your slime people with you."

Aya nodded her head. "I was able to escape from the dorm without being caught on a feed. For all anyone knows, I'm still back in Uglyville."

"Good, cause I've got something beyond mag level for us to do."

*********

Aya looked over the edge of the canyon and felt panic creeping up on her. "So...what exactly are we going to do?"

"You see that wire hanging over there?" Miki asked.

Aya nodded, seeing the glint from where the light from Miki's flashlight reflected off the wire's surface. It was strung across the canyon like a winding river. It would briefly touch each side of the canyon before swooping back across to the other side. Aya strained her eyes, but she could not tell where the wire ended.

"That's what we're doing tonight. See, the Rusty's had this weird fascination with flight and created tons of things to simulate it. This is one of them. They used to strap themselves in jackets that were made of rope and use a metal hook to attach themselves to the wire. Then they would jump off the side of the canyon and use the wires to zoom down the entire canyon!"

Aya gulped. "That's what we're going to do? Put on rope jackets? That doesn't sound very safe."

Miki laughed. "No, of course not. I wouldn't even know where to find jackets that old. They're probably stored up in some old museum. We're going to use these." Miki pulled out two pairs of black gloves and shoes from her bag.

"They work sort of like a hoverboard. They use metal to guide their path. You can either grab the wire with your hands or you can slide down using your shoes as your board. They create a magnetic cushion between your hands or feet and the wire so you don't actually touch the wire. Think of it as like an invisible hoverboard."

Miki handed Aya a set of shoes and gloves and started putting her own on. "But what if we fall? What will stop us from hitting the ground?" Aya asked.

"Nothing. That's what's so mag level about it! Just make sure to hold on tight or, if you decide to surf it, make sure your feet stay on the wire. When we get to the end of the wire, there will be a pad that you can jump on to."

With that Miki stood up and jumped on the wire. Aya gasped and called out. "Wait!" She hurriedly put on her own gloves and shoes, and walked over to the wire.

Aya was pretty nervous. This didn't seem very safe and there was nothing preventing her from leaving right now. Sure, Miki would be mad, but it wasn't like she could tell the other Sly Girls that she had chickened out. Miki wasn't even supposed to be talking with her right now. But...she needed to prove herself to Miki in order to get a good interview from her and, plus, it could be fun, right?

"Moggle!" She hissed. "Where are you?" Moggle darted over and flashed his lights at her. "Moggle! What did I tell you about the lights?!" Aya rubbed the spots from her eyes then quickly gave Moggle instructions. "Stay close and make sure that you catch all of this on film. If I die, get Hiro and bring him here. Otherwise, I'll see you on the other side!"

She took a deep breath then put one foot on the wire. Miki was right when she said Aya's feet wouldn't touch the wire, it felt like she was standing on air! She placed her other foot on the wire and stood there. _Okay, I'm on it. Now how do I start moving? Maybe if I move my foot forward..._

All of a sudden Aya started moving. The wire was just whipping by underneath her feet and she wasn't sure how to control it. Thankfully, the shoes seemed to be keeping her on track. The wind was pretty strong and she was constantly trying to keep upright. Straight ahead Aya could see the other side of the canyon. _Okay, it's over. That wasn't so bad!_

But then the wire turned suddenly and Aya was jerked off her feet. _Oh, yeah. I forgot. The wire loops back around to the other side of the canyon._ Then she realized she was tipping over. The turn had unbalanced her badly enough to knock her feet partially off of the wire. The momentum she had going had kept her upright for a moment, but now she was slowly heading down.

Her mind racing, she frantically considered her options. _Fall, fly, become weightless..._ Then she remembered her gloves. They worked just like her shoes! She reached out towards the wire and managed to grasp it, just as her feet lost the last bit of hold they had. She felt a jerk as her hands took her full weight, but she was still holding on and her speed had picked up again!

Aya continued holding on to the wire as it winded through the canyon. As her heart beat slowed down from her brush with death, she stared to enjoy the wind blowing through her hair and the way the stars sparkled in the sky. Then, straight ahead, she saw Miki and the landing site. Her arms were getting tired but she thought she could make it. Finally, she was there. She let go of the wire and dropped onto the pad beneath her.

"Omphf." She grunted as she landed hard.

"Wasn't that kicking?" Miki exclaimed. "Wireboarding is so much fun! Wanna go again?"

Aya shook her head weakly, the possibility of an interview the furthest thing from her mind. "I don't think I'm up to another round. My head's sort of spinning and, yeah, almost dying makes you kinda tired. You go ahead. I'm going to go back to the dorm and patch up my bruises."

Miki laughed. "I understand. I was pretty shaken up my first time too. I gotta say you impressed me tonight. I wasn't sure you'd do it. I'll put in a word with the other girls and see if I can get you back into the group any sooner. Just don't mention that we did this. Jai would be pissed!"

Aya nodded. "She would probably kill us both! Thanks for the offer, though. I did have a good time and I'd love to get back in with the Sly Girls. The slime queen thing was totally unintentional."

"Just don't do something that stupid again. I'm going to go catch anther ride, so I'll see you around." Miki waved then walked back down to the wire's starting point.

Aya picked herself up and called for Moggle. He arrived at her side and Aya asked, "Did you get all of that?" Moggle blinked his eyes yes. "Good. We're going to head back to the dorms now. Tonight has just been so mind-blowing. Wireboarding...who would have known the Rusty's were so kicking?

 

 

 


End file.
